Roubina Taufiq Shah

Director Administration & Finance

Ms. Roubina Taufiq Shah is presently serving as Director Administration and Finance, Centre of Excellence, CPEC, a project of PIDE and Ministry of Planning Development & Reform. She retired from 35 years of Government service as Director General ( TDRO), heading the Trade Dispute Resolution Organization, Ministry of Commerce in July 2016. She is a Commerce & Trade Officer with a vast experience in trade promotion and facilitation. She joined government service in 1981 as an officer of Chief Controller Imports & Exports Islamabad and then Lahore till 1993.

Ms. Shah has been associated with the concept of promoting women entrepreneurs in Pakistan for the last 30 years. She pioneered the project of WEXNET (Women Exporters Network) a branded annual exhibition of TDAP in Pakistan for women entrepreneurs from year 2000. From 2010, her services have been utilized by USAID for training women entrepreneurs in trade related matters. In 2016, she was the main resource person for USAID Pakistan Regional Economic Integration Activity (PREIA) which had an underlying objective of encouraging more women in Pakistan’s trade sector. Under this objective, the ‘Women Leadership in Trade Policy’ (WLTP) Program a series of roundtable discussions were held on the subject in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, under the super vision of Ms. Shah.

Her vast experience has been as a Trade Promotion Officer in Chief Controller Imports & Exports, Export Promotion Bureau, TDAP. Ms. Shah was posted as Commercial Secretary Pakistan High Commission Dhaka where she served her country for 4 years, working day & night to promote the exports to that region. Her services as CS Dhaka are well acknowledged by the business community of Pakistan.

Ms. Roubina Taufiq Shah has also served in Pakistan Institute of Trade & Development ( PITAD) as Director Training and has been delivering lectures on Export Procedures and Documentations to the newly inducted Commerce & Trade officers. Her other past postings also include Deputy Secretary Ministry of Women Development, Deputy Secretary Insurance Ministry of Commerce. As an officer of TDAP, she has been engaged in management of its Sub-regional Punjab offices of Multan, Sialkot, Gujranwala and Faisalabad, Trade Promotion and facilitation of exporters and products, resolving trade disputes, organizing and handling & coordinating Trade Delegations and foreign / local Exhibitions, workshops, seminars, promoting and developing women entrepreneurs, acting as a liaison office for TDAP and coordinate with various organizations like MOC, Trade bodies, international organizations, private and public sector, interacting with foreign missions and international trade organizations in Lahore.

Ms. Shah has to her credit organizing some very important events and exhibitions like Date Shows Dhaka, DITF Dhaka, Pakistan participation in Batexpo Dhaka, Wetex Dhaka and EPB ( now TDAP) shows like Wexnet, Expo Pakistan Karachi, D-8 Exhibition & Conference Islamabad 2012. As an officer of EPB ( TDAP) and Commercial Secretary Dhaka, she has been involved in handling and settling trade disputes between importers & exporters of Pakistan with their counterparts abroad and has an in-depth knowledge of the issues and causes leading to these disputes.

She has handled all administrative and financial matters of the TDRO, from establishments of its office to furnishing it, hiring of staff and management of personnel, financial management of budget, preparation of proposals for trade policies, assistance by foreign donors etc; Liaising with ITC & UNIDO for EU Funded TRTA II Program consultants for preparation of Draft Law for trade dispute resolution; Organizing Seminars / Brainstorming Sessions for consultation with Trade bodies & exporters on problems being faced by them & their inputs for the draft law have been her big achievements. She has been successful in devising proposals for removal of export problems / hurdles; providing assistance to Pakistani exporters who are defrauded in international trade; resolving Trade Disputes and ensuring foreign importers are not cheated by exporters & vice versa; liaising with Ministry of Commerce on various Trade proposals, liaising with all public sector organizations for resolving trade disputes and enhancing trade facilitation, interacted with standard bodies and quality assurance initiatives. Her efforts for educating and training exporters / importers on export procedures and international standards to avoid disputes have been commendable.

In her current assignment as Director Administration & Finance, she has successfully established the new office of Centre of Excellence, managed its budget, HR and other administrative jobs of purchases, tenders etc.

Centre of Excellence will develop professional researcher and policy makers pool to contribute in robust policy relevant knowledge and up-gradation of governance capacities